French National Assembly Introduces Resolution Urging Increased Pressure on Azerbaijan

PARIS — A resolution has been introduced in the French National Assembly calling on the French government and the European Union to intensify pressure on Azerbaijan to accelerate the signing of a peace agreement with Armenia and to secure the release of Armenian prisoners illegally held in Baku.

The resolution was co-authored by Laurent Wauquiez, President of the “Republican Right” parliamentary group and Chair of the France-Armenia Friendship Group, along with Alexandre Martin, Vice-Chair of the same group.

The resolution states that France has a historical and political role to play in supporting Armenia’s efforts toward achieving regional peace. As a friend of Armenia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a key actor in implementing the European Neighborhood Policy, France is well positioned to take action. In this context, the resolution underscores the necessity of signing a strategic partnership agreement between Armenia and France, grounded in shared values of democracy, human rights, security, and development.

The resolution also demands the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees held in Azerbaijan, stressing that the ongoing sham trials against them are part of a broader, systematic Azerbaijani policy aimed at eliminating the Armenian population, destroying Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage in all territories under Azerbaijani control, and denying Armenia’s existence.

Given these circumstances, the French parliamentarians’ resolution urges the French government and the European Union to increase pressure on Azerbaijan to expedite the peace agreement with Armenia and to release the Armenian prisoners. It also calls on the French government to finalize and promptly sign the strategic cooperation agreement with Armenia and urges the EU to expand its political, economic, military, educational, scientific, and cultural cooperation with Armenia.